THAI SPICY TOM-YUM-GOONG TOMATO GAZPACHO

THAI SPICY TOM-YUM-GOONG TOMATO GAZPACHO

I FELT LIKE MY MOUTH HAS TAKEN A BEACH VACATION DOWN IN THE SOUTHEAST, THAT I COULD HEAR THE SOUND OF TURQUOISE WATER MASSAGING MY TASTE-BUDS

Something is happening here, and if you had any loved ones residing in Beijing, you may have felt this. Perhaps from the shaken jitters that come through their voices, perhaps even traceable within their text messages… the emotions, raw and rampant, running uncontainably even from the choices of their emojis on Instagram. Because over here, since about 3 days ago, something big is happening. The most freakish… unfathomable… borderline-scary natural phenomenon is rioting through the very air we breath, and the very reality we see, and frankly, it’s freaking everybody out here. Emerging from the darkness, the elderly are moving cautiously and slowly out of the shadows of their dwellings, looking up, teary in disbelief. The children, curious and enthusiastic, holding their hands out into the rare glistens and ask, Mommy, what is this?

What it is, is that for the past 3 consecutive days, the historically soupy and oppressively smoggy sky of Beijing, has been, impossibly blue.

I’m not talking about the-government-patting-themselves-on-the-back or the this-should-be-harmless-enough-to-leave-my-house-without-my-gas-mask kind of greyish relative blue. I’m talking about… the Swissland-kind of blue, the 3D clouds-kind of blue, the mystical, unicorn-kind of blue that the Chinese has only seen or heard in movies or from the tales of strange, faraway travellers. And maybe, it’s no big deal to you, but in Beijing, it’s nothing short of a miracle, like Moses parting the Red Sea and finding a 20 dollar-bill on the sea-floor while crossing. Which is, literally, impossible. As pathetic and outrageously sad this may sound, in a day like this, we almost owe it to ourselves to go outside and do something as mundanely rare as… having a fucking picnic.

And if that wasn’t pathetic and sad enough to hear, let me just tell you something else, that I actually made and photographed this soup – possibly the best soup I’ve ever made period – all the way back on Thursday. The summer version of Thailand’s spicy and sour tom yum goong soup that will smack all your dulled senses wide awake with its distinctive lemony herbs, spiciness and tartness of red chilis and tomatoes, the emboldened depth from blended and drizzled shrimp oil, and the creaminess of coconut milk. It was so good, that I felt like my mouth has taken a beach vacation down in the Southeast, that I could almost hear the sound of turquoise waves massaging my taste-buds, that I almost couldn’t wait another minute to tell you all about it. But I stopped myself. I stopped myself because I wanted to make it again for this picnic, to photograph it under all that impossible sun lights, to bath in it again on this pleasure that comes as rare as a golden panda that speaks English. Because did I mention…

5~6 (135 grams) white parts of the lemongrass stalks, cut into small chunks

1 1/2" (40 grams) galangal, cut into small chunks

10~11 (4 grams) kaffir lime leaves, torn into small pcs

3 small red chillis, diced

1 tbsp (15 grams) + 2 (30 grams) tbsp fish sauce, plus more to adjust

1/4 cup (60 grams) lime juice

4 small Asian shallots, peeled and cut into chunks

1 1/4 tsp light brown sugar

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

TO MAKE SHRIMP OIL: Peel the shrimps and set aside the meats. Use a scissor to cut the heads and shells into as small of a pieces as you can, then combine with olive oil, chili flakes, fresh mint leaves, kaffir lime leaves and shrimp paste in a pot. Set over medium heat, breaking up the shrimp paste with a wooden spoon and cook for 9~10 min until the shells are almost browned, and that there are browned bits forming on the sides/bottom of the pot. Add the water, scraping down the browned bits as thoroughly as you can so they can melt into the water, and cook for another 2 min to reduce. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve, pressing down the solids to extract as much liquid as you can, then discard the solid. Set the shrimp oil aside.

Devein the shrimps and slice them in half length-wise. Add 1 tbsp of shrimp oil to a skillet, then cook the shrimps over medium heat just until they turn opaque. Season with salt and pepper, then set aside in the fridge.

TO MAKE THE GAZPACHO: In a blender, combine coconut milk, 1/2 can (200 grams) of peeled tomato (reserve the rest), lemongrass stalks, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, red chilis and 1 tbsp of fish sauce. Blend for 2~3 min until the mixture is completely obliterated. Strain the mixture through a very fine sieve or cheese clothe. If you're using a fine sieve, press on the solids until they feel relatively dry, then squeeze with your hands in small batches to extract as much liquid out as possible (you'd be surprise how much more liquid you can get). If you're using cheese clothe, just squeeze on the entire thing all together. You should be able to get about 1 1/2 cup of liquid.

Rinse the blender but no need to wash. Add the extracted liquid back to the blender, along with the remaining 1 1/2 can (600 grams) peeled tomatoes, lime juice, small Asian shallots, 2 tbsp of fish sauce, light brown sugar and freshly ground black pepper. Run the blender for 1~2 min until smoothly pureed, *then drizzle in 1/4 cup of shrimp oil while running. Adjust the seasoning with more fish sauce if needed, then chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours to overnight (this is also important for the flavours to weld together). Blend it again briefly or whisk vigorously before serving.

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30 Comments

I just love your writing style and got caught in your story about that unbelievably blue sky! Almost forgot about your recipe – but how could I…? In the end there are just those lovely and really beautiful pictures, which made me drool…

JeffT

Laurie

Mandy! – You makin’ me laugh and you makin’ me cry!!!!!! Tom Yum – one of my favorites soups, ever! Your version sounds lovely. Kaffir lime leaves are the hardest for me to get, even in the gourmet grocery stores. I guess I can try some lime zest, instead. Head on shrimp are pretty much impossible to get, but I have so many shrimp shells that I think I can make a really good stock. Rock on, Mandy. Kisses for Dumpling and Shrimpy! (and Jason, of course)!

Laurie, kafir lime leaf has such unique flavours that can’t really be substituted. Lime zest will lack it’s aroma I think. Kafir lime leaves, lemongrass and galangal freezes super well, so if you see it next time or on a travel, stock them up in the freezer!

Laurie

I always have galangal in the freezer but never thought about freezing lemongrass. I hate to discover a sad looking stalk in the fridge. I will definitely stock up on kaffir lime leaves next time I find them. I might even request that Wegman’s start to carry them. Sometimes stores will do that. Congrats on your winning the Saveur award! It is nice to be recognized for your hard work. We know you do it because you love it but a pat on the back is always nice! Remember, we are patting you all of the time!

I’ve tried freezing lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and galangal (all fresh and as a whole). The kaffir leaves and galangal seemd fine when I used them, but the lemongrass stalks were just sad (soft & mushy). I thawed it in the fridge overnight, could be that this was the problem. Mandy, do you usually cut the lemongrass before freezing? Thanks!

Ursula, whether to freezing lemongrass or not depends on the intended use for the lemongrass, which is usually ground into a paste in curry or in this case, blended into the soup. So the texture of the thawed lemongrass isn’t all that important. But if you want to use it in a stir-fry (cut into chunks) or etc, then freezing them is not a good idea :)

Emily

I used to live in Beijing and I too had the strange experience one morning of seeing a clear blue sky. I can totally relate to thinking it was exciting and eerie all at the same time. I love the idea of this dish. How long do you think the shrimp oil would keep?

Reen

Well, thank you! I have just done the dirty deed with shrimp, which I have never done. I found myself looking out the kitchen window a lot, rather than watching the carnage in my sink. But I know it is all worth it because you have led me down many wonderful culinary paths! Thank you for these cooking lessons from across the world!

I think this soup might be my spirit animal. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to make it right away! Just finished and it’s cooling in the fridge, but holy hell it tastes AMAZING! Thank you for this genius recipe!

June

Hey Mandy! I made this the other night and it was so yummy! A perfect combination of flavours and very refreshing. The shrimp oil was amazing. After the first bite, my husband asked if it was another genius Mandy recipe and I totally nodded ;)

Angela

This was a PUNCH IN THE FACE. The flavours were screaming, kicking and punching. I think wuss me just couldn’t handle all the bad-ass-ness of this gazpacho. Though I love the shrimp oil and will be making it again and again. I envision it in pasta but so much more…

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ABOUT THE LADY, THE PUPS, AND BEYOND

Hi, I’m Mandy Lee, Taiwan-born, Vancouver-raised, and slow-aged in New York for the better part of my life. Until moving to Beijing where, out of sheer desperation and agony, I started Lady and Pups – an angry food blog in 2012, my misery outlet where it marked the beginning of my pre-midlife crisis. If you don’t know what it’s like to move from NYC to China… anger doesn’t even cut it. This little project is a phoenix rising out of the tormenting flames of living there with all its misery. So come share how I turned a lot of frustration and anger in a lovely meal.

You should know that I excel at giving unsolicited opinions. I love movies. I love traveling. I am a dog person, but only because I’ve never met a people cat. I’m also conflicted about whether pigs should be pets or SPAM, which makes me a hypocrite. I dream of having a…. READ MORE